クレジットカードは使えますか？
kurejitto kādo wa tsukaemasu ka?
To ask "do you accept credit card?" in Japanese, use クレジットカードは使えますか？ (kurejitto kādo wa tsukaemasu ka?)
This phrase is used to ask a merchant if they allow payment by credit card. While English speakers use the verb "accept", the Japanese phrase literally asks if a credit card "can be used".
Which one should you use?
For a more formal tone, you can use クレジットカードは利用できますか？, which translates to "Is it possible to use a credit card?" If you want to be particularly polite, you can say お支払いはクレジットカードで可能ですか？, meaning "Is payment possible with a credit card?" In casual settings, you can use the informal version クレジットカード使える？
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase クレジットカードは使えますか？, the particle は is used to mark "credit card" as the topic of your question. The particle か at the end transforms the statement into a question.
How do you pronounce it?
kurejitto kādo wa tsukaemasu ka?
Did you know?
- When the clerk answers your question, they may use a gesture of crossing their arms in an 'X' shape to signal that cards are not accepted.
- In Japan, if you pay with a credit card, the clerk will often place the card on a small plastic tray called a トレー instead of taking it directly from your hand.
- The word クレジットカード is a 'loanword' from English and is written in 'katakana', a script used specifically for foreign words and sounds.
Examples in context
- すみません、クレジットカードは利用できますか？Excuse me, can I use a credit card?
- クレジットカードは使えますか？Kurejitto kādo wa tsukaemasu ka?Do you accept credit cards?
- ここではクレジットカードは使えますか？Koko de wa kurejitto kādo wa tsukaemasu ka?Can I use a credit card here?
Example conversation
Hiyori is at a small cafe checkout counter.
- 蓮 Renいらっしゃいませ。ご注文はお決まりですか？Irasshaimase. Go-chūmon wa okimari desu ka?Welcome. Have you decided what to order?
- 陽葵 Himariはい。あと、クレジットカードは使えますか？Hai. Ato, kurejitto kādo wa tsukaemasu ka?Yes. Also, do you accept credit cards?
- 蓮 Renはい、もちろんです。こちらでお願いします。Hai, mochiron desu. Kochira de onegaishimasu.Yes, of course. Please use this machine.
- 陽葵 Himariありがとうございます。Arigatō gozaimasu.Thank you very much.
